No Risk No Reward
The Price of Achievement is Risk of Failure
Many a time I have heard the critique of the naturalist viewpoint that it’s so empty because “the ultimate goal is merely survival.” However, I disagree. I think the ultimate goal of nature is to flourish. Nature is never in a standstill. It is always adapting, always climbing the ladder, trying to reach where it hasn’t gone before. If nature’s sole purpose were survival, we would all still be formless bacteria in the ocean. And just as it took that first cuttlefish to wander on land and the first neanderthal to take a wolf in to be his dog, it took the Wright Brothers into the sky in their makeshift airplane.
The very essence of nature is risk. Those who risk nothing will receive nothing in return. And the primitive aspirations of the first fish in the ocean continue into dangerous voyages, capitalistic investments, and even deep relationships in today’s society. Whether someone is ascending a 14,000 foot peak, taking out a loan on a new business they’re starting or asking the pretty girl out on a date, they are still fulfilling their natural desire to flourish instead of accepting the status quo of mere existence.
Multi-million dollar businesses and construction projects are daunting endeavors no doubt, but there is no riskier investment than relationship. Relationships ask more than all the money in the world, require more work than the most collectible cars and more commitment than climbing the tallest peaks, but the reward is equally unmatchable. The warmth of a loving family or a true friend that you can trust with your life is unmatched by any accomplishment known to explorers or engineers worldwide. But equally devastating can be the loss.
My parents’ cat, who was also my cat, as he was brought into the family when I was 16, died suddenly the other night. It was a peaceful passing and my mom and dad held him as he let go his last breath. I drove up to visit them and help bury the cat in the backyard. Amidst tears we also shared laughs recounting stories of his well-lived life in the Coverdale household
.I realized that the cats had become my mom’s children in a way. We had all moved out, and her constant companions had become Merry and Pippin, now down to just Pippin. I gave her a comforting hug and said “pain is the price of love, Mom.”
After that simple statement, I started down the rabbit hole that I have shared with you guys in this article. Risk is in our DNA, it has been since we were microscopic organisms. It is what drives us to get up and go to work in the morning, to go on that hike on our time off, to pursue the girl of our dreams, and to enter relationships that we know will be rife with struggle, disappointments, and ultimately sorrow.
This thesis reflects the title of my podcast “Naturalist Capitalist.” Liberty enables us to explore our very nature and to take risks that put us outside our comfort zone, and there is nothing more natural and Darwinian than true capitalism without government interference. It implies large risks with the potential for great reward. Let us avoid the trap that is comfort or complacency, for there is no greater threat to liberty, our own natural instincts, and the very thing that makes us human.
Sometimes i wonder who is making who a pet. Is the cat or dog your pet? Or are you their pet?